This invention relates to a method of treating water. More precisely, the invention relates to a physicochemical water treatment process including a step to bring water into contact with an inorganic powder reagent with high specific surface area particularly for reducing their content of organic matter.
The invention is equally applicable to methods of treating water for drinkability and purification, and as a guide can be applicable to treatment of a high quality water or for refining water that has already been treated in an existing installation.
In the field of the invention, it is known that water containing pollutants in solution can be treated by using powder reagents such as adsorbents, this treatment possibly being combined with an ultra-filtration or micro-filtration step in a manner that is also known.
These reagents are usually added at the same time as the clarification step, or on the upstream side of membrane filtration means.
Obviously, these powder reagents have physical hardness, abrasiveness and density characteristics such that they can be fluidised in water making them compatible with the filtration membranes used.
The powder reagents used include particularly Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC).
PAC is an adsorbent that eliminates pesticides and any other dissolved organic matter.
PAC is an expensive reagent and therefore induces relatively high operating costs.
Furthermore, the use of such a powder reagent on the upstream side of ultra-filtration or micro-filtration membranes introduces a disadvantage related to clogging of membranes by the reagent used and/or by the organic matter.